REIGNING Philippine Football League champion Ceres Negros FC is finally out of the Copa Paulino Alcantara following its 1-2 loss to Davao Aguilas FC over the weekend at the Rizal Memorial Stadium in Manila.
The Aguilas opened their wings early in the game with aggressive offensive plays as Jason de Jong has a chance for a go-ahead goal off a pass from Matt Hartmann but his attempt went wide.
In the 16th minute, the Aguilas took the lead on Wesley Dos Santos’ goal after redirecting a corner past Busmen keeper Roland Muller.
Omid Nazari has the opportunity to equalize the score but his attempt was saved by Davao’s custodian Patrick Deyto as the Aguilas enjoyed a goal lead at the break.
In the second half, the Busmen suffered another blow when a deep cross inside the box bounced towards the arms of defender Junior Munoz which forced the referee to point at the spot. Phil Younghusband stepped in for a 2-0 advantage in the 47th minutes.
Ceres cut the lead to a goal with Mike Ott scoring in the 53rd minute off a pass from his older brother Manny.
Martin Steuble has his chance for the equalizer in the 83rd but his shot was tamed by Deyto as Phil Younghusband tried for a brace but Muller saved it.
With the win, Davao advances to the semi-finals along with fellow Group A Stallion Laguna FC.
For Ceres FC assistant coach Ian Treyes, the team tried everything but the efforts weren’t enough. He said they will assess their performance and be prepared for the next tournament.
“We are just happy that we finished the game with no serious injuries,” he added.